April 20, 2012
TEMPE, Ariz. - The 16th-ranked Stanford softball team fell to fourth-ranked Arizona State, 11-9, Friday, in front of a crowd of 1,875 at Farrington Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. The Cardinal falls to 32-14 overall and 6-10 in the Pac-12, while the Sun Devils move to 37-5 overall and 9-2 in the conference.
Junior pitcher Teagan Gerhart took the loss in the circle, falling to 27-9 overall. She finished with five strikeouts and issued five walks while allowing 11 earned runs. ASU's Mackenzie Popescue entered the game in relief in the fifth and improved to 6-1 on the year.
After two scoreless innings, Stanford jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of third. After freshman Hanna Winter drew a walk, rookie Leah White and senior Ashley Hansen hit back-to-back singles to load the bases. Junior Jenna Rich brought everyone home with a grand slam to right centerfield. It's her eighth home run of the season and the fourth grand slam in five games for the Cardinal.
ASU plated one run in the bottom half of the inning, cutting the Stanford lead to 4-1. Sun Devil shortstop Katelyn Boyd singled to left field, scoring Talor Haro.
Stanford added two more runs in the top of the fourth to take a 6-1 advantage. With the bases loaded and two outs, Hansen reached on an error by ASU second baseman Sam Parlich, allowing Kelsey Gerhart and Winter to score.
The Sun Devils captured the 9-6 lead, hitting two grand slams in the inning. Freshman catcher Amber Freeman hit the first, her eighth home run of the season, while Boyd hit the other for ASU.
The Sun Devils scored their 10th and 11th runs of the game in the bottom of the sixth. First baseman Annie Lockwood hit a solo shot to right field to lead off the inning. Parlich drove in pinch runner Breanna Kaye with a double to right centerfield.
The Cardinal scored three runs in the top of the seventh, but it wasn't enough to prevail. Senior Jenna Becerra hit an infield single to score Rich from third. Winter then brought home Becerra on an infield single. With the bases loaded, White hit a single up the middle to score pinch runner Alyssa Lombardo, but a base-running mistake by Tegan Schmidt ended the game on the same play.
Stanford and ASU will continue the three-game series on Saturday, Apr. 21. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Farrington Stadium.